As integrated circuit device scaling continues, current levels consumed by a device such as a processor continue to increase due to a number of factors including an increase in the number of transistors per unit area on a die, introduction of new performance features, an increase in the number of cores in a processor, and reduction in supply voltage while the power envelope remains constant.
Among the deleterious impacts of increased current are a need to design a higher power voltage regulator and system power supply, a need for higher voltage to compensate for IR droop, and a need for better voltage regulators to supply higher current with faster feedback mechanisms.
Maximum current consumption of a device is related to highest demand workload that a device can execute at any given time, and may be associated with a “power virus.” The term power virus may refer to a tuned computer program with executable code that causes a high power dissipation of a core. Without a protection mechanism, this high current consumption can impact chip, package and system power delivery design.